Rockies 1, Marlins 0

AP

  
 
   

MIAMI (AP) Jason Jennings helped the Colorado Rockies' pitching staff rebound from a rough weekend.

Jennings became the winningest rookie in franchise history, combining on a shutout as the Rockies beat the Florida Marlins 1-0 on Monday night.

The Rockies were roughed up for 27 runs in losses to the Cubs on Saturday and Sunday, with Chicago's Sammy Sosa blasting four home runs and driving in 14 runs.

"We needed a clean game on the mound because of the way we took a beating in those last two games," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "What Jason did really helped, and it was nice to see our bullpen come through like that."

Jennings (13-5) and relievers Justin Speier, Todd Jones and Jose Jimenez combined for a five-hit shutout to overcome a near-flawless pitching performance by Florida's A.J. Burnett (11-9).

Jennings, who allowed four hits and struck out five in 5 2-3 innings, surpassed Armando Reynoso for the most wins by a Colorado rookie. Reynoso had 12 wins in 1993.

"That's not something I was thinking about, but now that it's happened, I'd like to go get some more wins," Jennings said.

Speier was sent back to the mound just a day after allowing a grand slam to Sosa.

After the Marlins worked the bases loaded against Jennings in the sixth, Speier came on with two outs and got Andy Fox to pop up.

"I'm glad he put me in," Speier said, referring to Hurdle's decision. "You want to be out there in that situation."

Burnett pitched his NL-leading sixth complete game - allowing one run on four hits and striking out nine.

"He was tremendous," Marlins catcher Mike Redmond said. "He makes one mistake and that was the difference."

The mistake came in the fourth inning. After a walk to Larry Walker, Burnett allowed a double down the left-field line to Todd Helton for the game's only run.

"It seems like they do something like that all the time for us," Jennings said. "That's why they're our 1-2 guys."

Helton had a pair of doubles, the only extra-base hits allowed by Burnett. Sandy Alomar had the only other hits, both singles.

"I was trying to hit a fastball," Walker said. "With Burnett, that's about all you can do is sit back and wait for one because he throws so hard. It wasn't the best swing, but it did for me what I had to do."

Burnett dropped his second straight start after winning three in a row.

"I had pretty good stuff tonight," Burnett said. "I was locating and keeping them off balance. When you're pitching well, you want to stay in the game. You never want to lose a game like this, but that's part of the game. You can't get too frustrated by it."

Notes: The Marlins were 1-5 on their recent road trip and were swept over the weekend by the Diamondbacks. ... Marlins C Mike Redmond, batting third for the first time this season, singled in his first two at-bats and finished 2-for-3. ... The game drew 5,091 fans, second-lowest this year at Pro Player Stadium. ... Speier has stranded 23 of 24 inherited runners, giving him a 96 percent success rate, tops in the majors.

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